My Gaming Landscape [August 26, 2013]

So I didn’t do a Gaming Landscape last week because I didn’t really play that many video games. I had something happen with my family and was pretty preoccupied. However, I did manage to get myself completely stuck in Final Fantasy XIII. I’ve stopped playing it because I’ve reached Chapter 11 and I just can’t get pass any of the monsters there. I can’t even complete my first mission because that monster just bitch slaps the hell out of me.

So for some reason, I started playing Saints Row: The Third because I had it on my PS3 thanks to PS Plus. Although I finished the first game to 100%, I could never get into the second game. The missions just weren’t as interesting to me. This however just drops you into the fray almost immediately and I’m liking it more as a result. It’s just such a silly game. Oh and I got that dildo bat. THAT THING IS SO STRONG! I’m smashing up cars with it! I’m going to take my time with it mostly because I’m now focusing on the next game.

I bought Borderlands 2 from Gamefly because it was on sale and I had a $5 off coupon, making it a grand total of around 10 bucks. I love this game. I had actually tried it back when it had came out and wasn’t really impressed and I still say the initial hour or so is fairly unremarkable but after that, it just gets so addicting. I also have the first Borderlands and I can tell you that this is a better game, thanks to the more immediacy put into the story. The optional missions are less tedious as well. It’s the game I’m focusing on the most right now.

Speaking of buying games, I also bought The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection and I started playing Shadow of the Colossus. I’ve played this game before on the PS2 but never finished it. So now I’m going to (slowly) try to finsh it this time. I’ve beaten two colossi so far. Nothing impressive but steady wins the race. I also started playing Assassin’s Creed II because it’s just there on my 360 hard drive free from last month. I got my outfit and that’s where I stopped. It’s Assassin’s Creed as far as I can tell, not much to say really.

I’ve also been playing a couple of indie games on my PC. Papers, Please is a really intriguing game that has you playing as a immigration officer for a Russia-like country in the 80s. You have to make sure everyone’s papers are in order, everything checks out so you can earn enough money to pay your rent and provide food, heat and, if necessary, medicine for your family. However, some people passing through have extraneous circumstances, like a man may check through okay but his wife is missing some paperwork or you may get a letter saying that a man with the proper paperwork is going to sell some girl into sex slavery. Do you let these people in or reject them? It’s an interesting concept, as I find myself mostly just following the rules regardless of what might happen to these people. I recommend it and I might do a more in depth review for Gaming Precision.

Finally, I started playing Divekick. This game is SO ADDICTING! I don’t know why a game with literally only two buttons can be so intense. It is though because you’re always judging the angle of your kick and your opponents and it’s never really safe to just do whatever. I’ve been trying the story mode and trying out new characters because each one is weird. Stream especially is weird. I can’t use him. I might do a Colorwind Plays video on this game later.

Alright so that’s what I’ve been playing for the past two weeks! What have you been playing?